A Robot Designed to Play Nicely with Humans

Omron Corp. recently demonstrated their ping-pong playing robot at CEATEC Japan, to show off the company’s prowess in robotics. What makes the machine remarkable, is that it’s not intended to play competitively. Instead, it’s designed to play a long, friendly game with lots of easy volleys.

By monitoring the position and movements of the human player, the robot can predict the trajectory and velocity of the ball. Using this information, the robot then attempts to return the ball back to a spot where the human can easily hit it.

While the robot might be a good sport, it looks like a giant mechanical spider intent on destroying the human race.